Analysis: Democrats' discord undercuts Obama estate tax push

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Divisions among Democrats are undermining President Barack Obama's push to raise the U.S. estate tax on inherited wealth, just weeks before the arrival of the "fiscal cliff" could drive the present estate tax rate even higher than Obama proposes.Action on the estate tax could be postponed. But in his successful re-election campaign, Obama called for wealthy Americans to pay...

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Canadian year-to-date budget deficit narrows in September

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's federal budget deficit dropped in the first six months of the fiscal year, falling to C$8.9 billion ($9.0 billion) in April to September from a C$11.8 billion shortfall in the same period of last year, the Department of Finance said on Friday.The monthly deficit in September fell slightly to C$2.69 billion from C$2.75 billion in September 2011.Revenues in the first six...

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Number of ND 'income millionaires' jumps by 102

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A record number of North Dakotans reported seven-figure incomes last year, many of whom are benefiting from the state's oil bonanza, the state Tax Department says.Figures released to The Associated Press show a record 634 people reported incomes of more than $1 million on their 2011 individual tax returns, up from 532 in 2010 and 384 in 2009. In 2006, while North Dakota's oil...

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Obama says Republican "fiscal cliff" plan out of balance

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama rejected a Republican proposal to resolve a looming fiscal crisis on Tuesday as "still out of balance" and insisted any deal must include a rise in income tax rates on the wealthiest Americans.Obama told Bloomberg Television that the Republicans' reliance on eliminating tax deductions instead of letting taxes rise on Americans making more than $250,000...

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Republicans see some leverage in "fiscal cliff" talks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republicans may have some leverage in their fiscal cliffhanger with President Barack Obama: the threat of forcing a disproportionate number of Democrats to pay the so-called alternative minimum tax.Under U.S. law, taxpayers each year must pay the greater of regular federal income tax, or the AMT. The latter requires taxpayers to give up certain tax breaks, typically exemptions...

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Obama Meets With Wounded Troops at Walter Reed

President Barack Obama has met with wounded service members during a visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.The president traveled to the hospital just outside Washington by helicopter a few hours before the House was expected to consider a Republican proposal to address the "fiscal cliff."The White House says the president met with 10 wounded troops during his stay. It was Obama's...

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Cliff Poses Tiny Dollar Gap, Wide Political Ravine

When it comes to resolving their "fiscal cliff" impasse, the dollar gap between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner is tiny in federal terms. That masks a monumental political ravine the two men must try to bridge, with most of the burden on the now beleaguered Boehner.Short of support from his own Republican Party, a chagrined speaker abruptly canceled a House vote Thursday night...

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Texas cancer agency's nonprofit defends privacy

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A foundation that boosts executive salaries at Texas' troubled $3 billion cancer-fighting effort defended to critical lawmakers Thursday a policy that keeps donors confidential while being lectured over appearances of pay-to-play politics.Facing pointed and occasionally combative questions from state budget-writers, officials with the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of...

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Fiscal Cliff 'Plan B' Is Dead: Now What?

The defeat of his Plan B - Republicans pulled it when it became clear it would be voted down - is a big defeat for Speaker of the House John Boehner. It demonstrates definitively that there is no fiscal cliff deal that can pass the House on Republican votes alone.Boehner could not even muster the votes to pass something that would only allow tax rates on those making more than $1 million to go up.Boehner's...

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US home sales rise 2.1 percent in October

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. sales of previously occupied homes rose solidly in October, helped by improvement in the job market and record-low mortgage rates.The increase along with a jump in homebuilder confidence this month suggests the housing market continues to recover.The National Association of Realtors said Monday that sales rose 2.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.79 million....

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